I Will Not Fade
by Akita Shepherd
Summary: With Tsuna as Vongola's boss, his son grows older within each passing month and drawing him closer to the threat and dangers of the mafia world. Now that Takayoshi has turned 14 he must make a family of his own and face things with his Dying Will. And with that, the Sky Pacifier has finally found it's new owner. What will become of Taka and his family?
1. Chapter 1

**~Chapter 1~  
Enter: Sawada Takayoshi!**

**~.~.~.~**

It was a joyous, beautiful night as music and laughter echoed through the Vongola Mansion's ballroom. Ally families from far and wide and come to this history in the making, a day that signaled a brand new dawn. And that new dawn was for the young Japanese/Italian eighteen year old messy, spiky haired chocolate brown haired boy with eyes bluer then the sky. He was no taller than the Vongola Primo was at his age, and just as handsome. He had on simple black fingerless leather gloves, a white suit, a white cape, and the Sky Ring on his hand. And hidden away by the cape at his belt was a gold, silver leafed box of a Vongola Box Weapon.

To be honest he was nervous. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a gold Vongola pocket watch with the Roman numeral, "11" on it. He clicked it open to show the lick of sky flames dancing softly with the ticking of the watch.

"Well, gramps, wish me luck…" sighed the young man.

With that the doors swung open and he entered the brightly lit ball room.

"_**They say no man can fight their fate, which we are forever to follow doomed to follow it.**_

_**That enteral circle of strife and struggle.**_

_**Then why is it I am so compelled to change the fate of our world?**_

_**Why was it that fate chooses me as her current favor?**_

_**I wish I knew, for my life used to be like any normal boy. Until the day of my 14**__**th**__** birthday…."**_

It was a summer morning in Namimori; in fact it was May 29.

The birds sang as the sun shined brightly in the cloudless skies as people hurried and scurried about to get to their destinations. But there was one who was in a terrible rush this morning over at the Sawada household.

"AH! I'M GONNA BE LATE AGAIN!" came the panicked scream of a young teenaged boy.

Soon enough, a lean 14 year old boy with messy chocolate brown hair and eyes as blue as the sky came racing out the door. He had on a Namimori Middle School uniform. Today was a special day for the boy though; he had just turned 14 years old today.

"Oh man, I'm _so_ gonna get a pounding from sensei if I don't hurry!" huffed the teen as he made a swift turn around the corner.

To be honest, he HATED school altogether but what choice did he have? His mother had this tendency to get a little scary when angry. And that's if his father wasn't home...which was most of the time since he had business to do overseas in Italy.

Unfortunately as he entered the school he tripped over his own two feet while running up the stairs. Causing the unpleasant _ride_ down the stairs, leaving his books scattered and him seeing stars race past his eyes. Laughter from his fellow students rang in his ears which only made him want to hide and crawl under a rock as he regained his senses and rubbed his aching head.

"Ite...that hurt!" groaned the teen.

"Clumsy as always Sawada Takayoshi." sighed a black haired teacher as she stopped to help him up. "And you missed first period _again_."

"I-I'm sorry sensei. My alarm clock broke again..."stuttered Taka nervously as he gathered up his things.

"Just get to class." said the teacher.

"H-hai..."sighed Taka sadly, hanging his head in shame as he hurried to second period.

~.~.~.~.~.~

Takayoshi sighed in relief as he got home and plopped himself on the sofa after changing out of his uniform. Now he was wearing a yellow t-shirt, jeans, and his blue hoody. He groaned in frustration as he remembered the beating he took from the school bullies from the 3rd grade.

_This so frustrating...I don't want to be known as a klutz all my life. Worst birthday ever! _he thought as he sat up, wincing from the movement.

"Oh man, even my bruises have bruises." grumbled the brunette.

That was when he heard his mother call him, "Takayoshi-kun?"

Taka blinked with a puzzled expression before getting up and moving towards the kitchen. There, sitting at the table with some letters, was his long orange-haired mother, Kyoko. He saw his mom was in an old pink t-shirt, a white knee length skirt, and her hair was in a ponytail right now.

"You wanted me Ka-chan?" he asked as he walked over to her.

Kyoko gave a warm smile and Takayoshi could see the excitement dancing in her eyes.

_What's got her so excited? _he thought, clearly confused.

"Can you run into the market for me please? I forgot the package your father sent for us at the post office." explained Kyoko with a bright smile.

"D-dad, sent us something?" echoed Taka in excitement, starting to smile in excitement.

His father had work in Italy and was often called to do work overseas when there were some difficulties. Takayoshi had tried plenty of times to get his father or even his mom to spill the beans. But every time it was always "When you are old enough we'll tell" every single time! And it annoyed the teen to a pulp.

"Yep~! Your father's also says in this letter he's coming home, isn't that exciting?" giggled Kyoko.

Takayoshi's eyes brightened as his smile grew wider at the thought of seeing his father again. It had been two years since he last saw him but he always got letters though and emails. Along with his uncle and the rest of his father's friends that gave updates, saying they were fine...the basic stuff.

"Yay! I'll go and get it faster than you can finish a tongue twister, Ka-chan!" declared Taka as he raced towards the door, totally forgetting his body's earlier complains.

Kyoko just blinked, surprised by her son's endless energy as she flinched now and again from hearing him crash into a door way or tripped over his own two feet. But she chuckled before pouring herself some more green tea. She then placed the cup down and pulled out a locket that bore a strange coat of arms on it and there was a single amber embedded in it. She snapped it open to reveal a picture from her teen years.

It was a picture of a tall, slender boy with spiky dusty brown hair and eyes that were like burning embers with their red pupils and amber irises. He was wearing a black suit and tie and on his shoulder was a little lion cub nuzzling him. Beside the boy sat a younger her and around them were their friends…one of them being her older brother.

"Tsuna-kun...I wonder how you are doing. Your son has grown so much, he becomes more and more like you and Giotto-san every day..." sighed Kyoko as she smiled fondly.

~.~.~.~

Meanwhile over at Namimori Airport a private jet had just landed that evening, just as the sun was starting to set. One by one people left the plane until there were seven in total; 1 girl and 6 boys.

"Ah~! It's great to be back home." sighed a spiky haired brunette, "I still can't speak Italian though."

"It's ok, Tsuna. Hayato did a good job translating for you." said Takeshi with a grin, his father's sword safely in its sheath.

"You better believe I did baseball idiot." smirked the Storm Guardian before turning to look at his boss/friend, "Right, Jyuudaime? I did great back there didn't I?"

"H-hai." agreed Tsuna, feeling flustered at not having been able to speak Hayato's native tongue.

"Excuse me, Boss?" came the meek voice of Chrome, catching her friends' attention.

"Yes Chrome?" asked Tsuna with a smile as they all made way for the airport's lobby entrance.

"I would like to leave now...i-if it's ok." she said, her now long violet hair being caressed by the night breeze.

"You want to go see your friends, right? It's fine, Chrome. I'm just happy you were able to come. Your illusions saved our butts back there more than once in that last battle." said Tsunayoshi in understanding, causing a smile to appear on the mist Guardian's face.

"Arigato." she said with a grin before leaving.

"I have to get going too Tsuna. Haru will be happy to see me home to the extreme!" said Ryohei in his same blazing energy as always.

Tsuna just chuckled as he put his hands in the pockets of his black trench coat he was now wearing. "Alright, I'll see you later then nii-san?" asked the 10th with a kind grin.

Ryohei nodded before waving farewell to his friends and dashed off in a burst of speed that really wasn't needed to be used. Tsuna also noticed that Kyoya had left as well...no surprise to the trio though. "Well, time for me to head home. I look forward to seeing Kyoko-chan and Takayoshi-kun again." sighed Tsuna as he looked up at the cloudy sky.

The Storm Guardian couldn't help but smile fondly as well as his own child came to mind and same with Takeshi as his son came to mind too. "Yeah..." agreed the two guardians.

"Skylar's a good boy, strong too. Wonder if he has any kendo matches coming up..." said the Rain Guardian with his same care-free grin.

"Kara's showing promise. I sent her over to be with my older sister but she should be back tomorrow." grinned the silver haired guardian.

"I just want to be somewhere where I don't have other Vongola breathing down my neck 24/7!" huffed Tsuna, letting his frustrations from the past year out as they headed out the airport doors. But thoughts of his family brought that treasured smile back onto the 10th's face.

"By the way, has anybody seen that stupid cow?" asked Hayato suddenly.

"No." answered Tsuna.

"He might have gone and run off to find a candy shop. You know how much of a sweet tooth Lambo has, even now." laughed the Rain Guardian.

"Will he be ok though?" pondered Tsuna, worry lacing his features.

"Don't worry, he's not a little kid anymore Tsuna."

"...Arigato. You're right, I shouldn't worry so much. Force of habit, I guess." grinned Tsuna thankfully.

"Papa! Uncle Tsuna! Uncle Gokudera!" Tsuna and his two Guardians turn to see a young child with brown and black hair running towards them. They all gave a smile.

They're smiles were turned down when the child tripped and fell on the ground.

Takeshi, with Tsunayoshi and Hayato close behind, jogged up to the small girl's side. The Rain Guardian had easily picked her up and cradled her. She was sniffling and getting teary eyed.

"I told you not to run Hikari!" Another voice yelled from a long distance. Panting heavily, a woman with light brown hair slowed down to a slow walk once she was near Tsuna and his Guardians.

"I see that Hikari still has a lot of energy left to outrun you these days, Shiro." Hayato remarked.

Shiro smiled. "She is just like her father. No doubt about it." Her loving gaze swept from Storm Guardian to Tsuna, then to Takeshi.

"G-gomen…" Hikari sniffled, puckering her lip out a bit. Tsuna and Gokudera were awed by the cute puppy-look.

"Ma, ma. You're fine. Daddy's gotcha now." Takeshi gave one of his funny grins at his daughter. She gave a cheerful smile.

"Ah, we better be going. Kyoko will be wondering when I'll be home." Tsuna turned around for a moment then suddenly felt Hikari's small hands took hold of his suit. He looked over his shoulder to see her eyes clouded with a worry.

"Uncle Tsuna. Something is about to happen soon, something bad!" said Hikari in worry, catching their full attentions.

"What do you mean, Hikari-chan?"asked Tsunayoshi.

"It's Taka-chan…."

~.~.~.~

Takayoshi couldn't believe his luck!

For once in his life he had that rare moment he wasn't a total klutz and the package was still in one piece. It was a small box; about the size of a basic sized laptop. But right now he was rushing to get home before it started raining.

"I wonder if Dad's home yet. Oh, I can't wait to see him and to hear what stories he has this time!" grinned Taka as he picked up speed.

Unfortunately that was when his luck ran out for as he turned a corner on May Street, something screaming in his head like a siren. He was suddenly pulled towards the park area by somebody and was tossed to the ground. When Taka looked up he saw a blue haired 15 year old boy with ice-kissed eyes and he had on the uniform for Namimori Middle School on still. With him were other students too...and all of them were the very same bullies that had picked on him since he was small. But that was when he saw the beaten up package on the ground and to his dismay the blue-haired boy stepped on it just as he slipped from tripping on his own shoes laces.

"You want this Taka the Klutz?" sneered the boy.

"Oh no! The package from my dad, give it back Terry-teme!" growled Taka in anger and worry.

"Make me Klutzy Taka." grinned Terry, "Give him a beating guys, there is no teacher around to stop us now."

Taka could feel his body freeze; frozen in fear as he watched the group draw closer to him. Some were smirking, some laughed, some cracked their knuckles, but Terry...he brought out a knife. Which was why Takayoshi was shaking like a leaf right now.

Takayoshi's cries of pain laced the air as he tried countless times to defend himself from this beating. Then Terry joined the fight and started slashing him. The pain was starting to haze his sight as blood tricked down the left side of his face. _No...I can't let it end like this! Why must I be so clumsy and weak?, _thought Takayoshi as Terry grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and forced him to his feet.

_**If it is your life you value, child then stand your ground!**_ rang a soft, encouraging whisper of a man in his mind. The beating on him still continuing.

"Weakling. It's people like you that are a waste of space." spat Terry in disgust as he tossed Taka away.

_I'm a...waste of space? _he thought as he laid on the ground. But slowly he forced himself back up to his feet, staggering from the wounds and the screaming of his body.

_**Are you just gonna take these insults gaki!?**_ Came an angered growl in his mind, this time of younger man. No, he wasn't sure what was going on but his blood had reached his boiling point. He would not take this lying down anymore!

"No," he whispered, clenching his fists.

"Huh, what's that?" taunted Terry.

"You are wrong...I'm not a waste of space!" Takayoshi hissed.

Taka panted as he stared over at the bane of his existence. All his life he had been called a klutz. He was an outcast...he didn't want to experience that anymore. Slowly, he wiped the blood from his left eye with his sleeve. He then opened his warm blue eyes. Terry and his gang were stunned to see a pure orange flame appear on the young 14 year old boy's forehead and hands. But even more so as the air change around him and his blue eyes now were like embers with their burning red pupils and orange irises.

"Takayoshi, you know better than to be out so late. Your mother and I were starting to get worried." came a new voice.

Takayoshi soon saw a handsome, tall man with honest and kind brown eyes and dusty brown spiky hair was now standing by his side. On his hands were these strange red gauntlet-like gloves with a blue orb and on that orb was the roman numeral for "10" on it. On one hand was this long silver ring with a chain and a lion's head on it. He had on a black trench coat as well as a uniform that eerily matched Taka's school uniform. The man saw the flames on the boy but a worried frown took hold as he saw the wounds to the young teen. But he said nothing as he placed a hand on Takayoshi's shoulder, causing Taka to glance over, still surprised and confused.

"Dad!?" he gasped.

Tsunayoshi smiled again before stepping in front of his son, much larger flames activating, mostly on habit and instinct. He stared at the nervous teens that had ambushed his child. "So, decided to pick on my son again I see, Terry-san?" he asked, calm enough that it was frightening.

That was also when two more people appeared, each of them looking not too pleased that this child had been harmed. One man had a katana at his side and had a blue ring, had black hair, and had a black suit on. The second was a silver haired man with anger blazing like a storm in his jade green eyes.

"Man, Kyoko's gonna have a fit when she sees Taka like this." sighed the swordsman.

"Hayato-san? Uncle Yamamoto?" yelped Takayoshi in surprise.

"You alright, young prince?" asked Hayato in concern, Taka nodded.

"You really had us worried, you know that Taka?" explained Takeshi, again Taka nodded in understanding.

"Gomen..."said Taka sadly.

Tsuna, though smiled for a moment, before shooting a leer at Terry, "Well? Are you going to answer?"

"N-No, LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" wailed Terry as he ran away like the coward he was.

"That's right! Run like the scared rabbits you are cowards!" shouted the Storm Guardian, still steaming at the fact the boss's son and heir had been injured.

"Woah, easy Gokudera-kun, their gone now. They won't bother Takayoshi-kun again." eased Tsuna as he extinguished his flames.

Only that was when Takayoshi collapsed, his flames extinguishing as well as his father caught him out of instinct. His two guardians were worried just like their childhood friend, Tsunayoshi. Rain started to fall as Takeshi noticed the package and picked it up with a sigh.

"Jyuudaime, we better get going." reminded Gokudera.

Tsuna nodded and adjusted his sleeping son with a little bit of help to get him onto his back. Then the trio started to head towards Tsuna's home. But all the while Tsunayoshi looked over at his injured son's sleeping form as the boy's head rested against his shoulder now and again. A proud smile lacing his lips.

"You did well Takayoshi-kun, I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and not running away like your old man did long before meeting Reborn." he said soothingly in a fatherly tone, "Our family is proud of you."


	2. Chapter 2

**~Chapter 2~  
Secrets Revealed!  
Enter The Eye of The Storm!**

**~.~.~.~**

Sunlight poured into the bedroom of young Takayoshi early that Saturday morning. His bedroom was in fact his father's old room from when he was a child. Lying over, soundly in bed was the young brunette himself. The wound to his head had been bandaged up along with the other cuts and scrapes. A light groan soon escaped him as he began to stir. He opened his sky-blue eyes and with a pained hiss he sat up, rubbing his stiff neck.

_Ite, oh man did that ever hurt! _he thought. That was when he noticed somebody fast asleep in a chair over at the study desk.

It was Taka's father!

"DAD!?" he squealed in surprise, realizing the events of last night were no dream.

This clearly startled his father for he snapped awake and out of being a total klutz like his son he fell out of his chair, causing Takayoshi to sweat drop at this as his father groaned, shaking the stars from his eyes.

"Youch, what a wakeup call! Was that necessary Taka-kun?" sighed Tsuna as he got to his feet.

"Um, sorry Dad. You just caught me off guard." chuckled Taka, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, let's go down stairs then, we need to talk. Can you walk?" asked Tsuna with a kind smile.

Taka thought for a moment and tossed the sheets off of him to fully reveal his blue pajamas. Slowly he got off of his bed and although the first few steps and movements were shaky he was able to walk just fine. Causing relief to shine in his father's warm brown eyes and he gestured for his son to follow.

So, the young teen did just that.

Once downstairs, Takayoshi was led into the living room. There, he took a seat on the couch with his father. It was also then that his mother came walking in and choosing to take a seat on a cushion by the living room table.

"What is it you want to tell me?" asked Takayoshi in confusion.

"You know how your father has to leave Japan to go to Italy a lot for work?" Taka nodded.

"And do you remember seeing what I did last night?" asked Tsuna.

"Yes. Your hands and forehead sprouted flames, yet, they weren't burned. Why is that?" said Taka, still very confused.

Tsuna's expression suddenly turned oddly serious; something he wasn't used to doing. Memories of his past surfaced...everything from meeting Reborn to his battle against Enma to the Rainbow Challange. Every single laugh and every single fear he had felt. But as Tsuna looked over at Kyoko who gave him an encouraging nod, Tsuna's resolve strengthened.

"Takayoshi-kun, you are now 14 years old and the ordeal of last night proved we need to tell you the full truth now." began Tsuna.

"The full truth?" echoed Taka, his parents nodded.

"I am the leader of the Vongola...you carry the blood of the Mafia in your veins Takayoshi-kun. I'm the tenth boss of the Vongola. You are the prince of the Vongola Family." explained Tsuna.

Takayoshi gaped at what his father just said as he started to connect the dots. His mother's strange locket, the strange flames his father summoned up last night, his parents never telling him what was really going on...all of it clicked into place. His parents stared at him while he had been too shocked to voice his surprise. Eventually it lead to Taka hanging his head low in a small piece of shame at another realization.

"Y-you were only trying to protect me, weren't you?" he whispered.

"Hai...we're so sorry to have hidden this from you, Takayoshi-kun." sighed Tsuna sadly.

That was when Taka smiled as he hugged his father, catching the Tenth by surprise. "It's ok, I forgive you. Just one thing, do I get to learn that fire trick?"

At this Tsuna and Kyoko started to laugh, "Yes, you'll learn to use Dying Will Flames."

That was when the doorbell rang, "I'll get it!" said Taka hastily as he raced over.

He opened the door and standing before him was a tall Italian man with silver hair and jade eyes. He had a red belt with a leopard buckle with black pants and he had a red t-shirt with the kanji for storm on his sleeve. Beside him stood a beautiful 14 year old girl with long red hair and piercing jade eyes. She wore a black tank top with a purple sweater jacket and jeans and there was a choker around her neck.

"Ah, morning prince. Good to see you up and about." greeted Hayato with a smile.

That was when the girl tackle hugged the teen to the ground, "Taka-sama!"

Hayato could only sweat drop at his daughter's excitement...but then again, he did acted like a lost puppy whenever he was around Tsuna back in their teens. So, it was no surprise to him since his daughter tended to be this way. Even more so since Kara had a crush on the young Undicesimo.

"Kara-chan?" yelped Takayoshi in both surprise and delight.

"Hai! I missed you so much Taka-sama, it was so boring in Italy with auntie." pouted Kara as she helped her childhood friend back up as Tsuna came over.

"Oh, you got here quick Gokudera-kun." greeted Tsuna in amusement.

"Yep! I was just getting back from picking up Kara from the airport. So, when you called I figured I'd just bring her too." explained the Storm Guardian.

"So, does Kara know?" Hayato nodded.

"Does Undicesimo...?" Tsuna nodded as well as he watched Takayoshi and Kara run to the kitchen.

"Alright, as soon as the others get here let's talk about what we found..."

~.~.~.~

"Oh wow! I can't believe it really is you Kara-chan! You're a bit taller than me now." laughed Takayoshi.

"Aw, I didn't know you missed me that much Taka-sama." giggled Kara in delight.

"But why did you return so soon? I thought you were staying with your aunt in Italy." asked Taka in puzzlement.

Kara just smiled, "I left to train; to find my fighting style. Turns out I'm great at archery just like G-san was! Isn't that cool?"

"G? You mean your ancestor?"

"Hai!"

"That's so cool!" grinned Takatoshi cheekily.

That was also when Taka noticed something fall out of his friend's sleeve. He blinked twice in curiosity at the sight of a silver kunai dagger with a dark red hilt. "Um, Kara-chan? What's that thing that fell out of your jacket?" asked Taka. lifting a brow up at his friend.

Kara instantly started to blush a shade that would put Storm flames to shame. Hastily she snatched it up and rolled up her sleeve to reveal some sort of weapon dispenser strapped to her arm. "Uh, sorry. My kunai holder is kinda busted up thanks to aunt's blasted poison cooking." sighed Kara, turning pale at the memory of her insane training that got her hospitalized more than once.

Taka shuddered at just trying to picture what his friend had to go through all those years. Even his father ran at the first sight of Kara's aunt's poison cooking. And that was saying something since even Kara's father would get sick at the sight of the toxin expert. This in turn caused Taka to sweat drop.

"Oh man, I feel bad for you having to endure all that stuff." sighed Taka.

That was also when the duo heard the voice of the red-head's father and Tsuna. So, the two rushed down the stairs and into the backyard. "Yeah?"

Tsuna, Hayato, and Kyoko smiled at the two as they each sat down on the porch.

"What did you want papa, Tsunayoshi-sama, and Kyoko-san?" asked Kara in annoyance, losing her patience.

"Impatient as ever, Kara." came a male voice.

Taka and Tsuna's hyper intuition kicked in, causing a pleased smile to grace the tenth's lips. But Taka was confused of experiencing this sensation at such a high level. He felt similar tingles up his spine in the past ever since he was tiny. He looked around to try and lock onto the source. But that was also when he felt a rock hit him square in the head, causing him to yelp in surprise. While his father's lion, Natsu, had acted and stopped another rock from hitting its master.

"Reborn! Glad you could make it here on such short notice...still as brutal as ever I see." laughed Tsuna in amusement, remembering his days as the hitman's student.

"Oi! Reborn, do you always have to do that to Decimo?" spat the Storm Guardian.

"You ok, Taka-sama?" asked Kara in worry, Taka just nodded as he rubbed the bump on his head.

That was also when a tall man with a yellow pacifier on a necklace chain around his neck came out from behind a tree. He wore a suit and tie just like Taka's father dad been (but right now had changed into a white t-shirt and jeans) and had on this black hat with an orange strap. In his hand was a green pistol he twirled once before-to Takayoshi and Kara's surprise-changed into a green chameleon with yellow eyes that crawled up to rest on the man's shoulder. The man also had messy black hair and brown eyes.

The man gave a smile at the Tenth, "Ciao, Decimo...Kyoko...Hayato. I couldn't just let my old student get rusty now, could I? And I was more than happy to accept your request Tsuna."

Hayato gave a frustrated, yet, understanding nod as Kyoko returned the smile. But Taka was completely confused as to who it was. "Uh, what's going on and who's the old man in the funky hat?" asked Taka.

"Sawada Takayoshi! Show some respect!" scolded Kyoko, causing Taka to flinch at hearing his full name being used.

Reborn looked over at the next in line to the family: Takayoshi, Tsunayoshi's son and the great, great, great, great grandson of Primo. For Reborn, so much had changed over the years...everything from first meeting Tsuna who eventually accepted his fate and had indeed managed to turn the Vongola back on the right track. To himself and the other 6 colors discovering new traits about their lil'...dilemma. But to top it off was the overjoyed expression Tsuna had when Taka had been born.

Naturally, Reborn had showed up and even the other guardians as well. So many had wanted to meet the soon-to-be 11th. But only the Guardians, Reborn and his fellow Arcobaleno, Enma, and Dino's family did. Tsuna had feared an enemy family would try and target his son. So, the people that knew were a small handful.

"Yeah but why is Uncle Reborn here?" asked Kara.

"Glad you asked, you can explain from here Decimo." grinned Reborn.

"Ah, oh come on Reborn! That's sooo not fair!" pouted Tsuna.

"Suck it up Tsuna, _you_ are the boss, not _me_." retorted Reborn in his own caring manner.

Tsuna and Hayato just sweat drop at Reborn while the two teens were feeling like they were being left in the dark AGAIN! Finally though, Tsuna mustered up some courage for this (which was way easier now than in the past) and spoke...

"Takayoshi-kun, I will be training you with help from Reborn here in order to prepare you to succeed me when you turn eighteen. Very much like how Reborn did for me...but, to be honest teaching isn't a strong point for me which is why Reborn will be doing most of it." chuckled Tsuna in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.

Takayoshi just stared with mouth a gape at what his father said as Hayato started counting down, "Three, two, one-"

"Now." muttered Kara.

"NANI!" shrieked Takayoshi.

The next few hours were spent trying to calm down a freaking out brunette teenager with a bad temper. And trust me that was NOT pretty!

~.~.~.~

The next day Takayoshi had calmed down and went to their first training session. There, Tsuna had showed Kara and Taka to the base under Namimori. To say the two were shocked was an understatement. In the training hall Reborn had been waiting and that was when Tsuna turned around and Natsu turned back into the strange lion ring with a silver chain.

Taka and Kara were confused as Tsuna swallowed a strange blue pill as Tsuna closed his eyes. The gloves on Tsuna's hands changed, becoming blood red with the Roman numeral for "10" on it and they were engulfed in vivid orange flames just like the ones on his forehead. That was also when the Tenth opened his eyes to reveal orange irises with red pupils.

"Whoa..."

"You can say that again!" agreed Kara.

"Ok, WHOA!" chuckled Taka.

"FOR PETE SAKES! Not literally Taka-sama!" hissed Kara.

"Oh shut up you two! Or do you want me to use you for target practice?"

"Eeek! No thanks!" squeaked Takayoshi in a panic, Kara just looking nervous.

"Alright, I want you to fight me like your life depends on it, understand? Fight me like you would an enemy." stated Tsuna calmly.

"But-"

"No buts, just do what your father says Klutzy Taka." stated Reborn.

Reborn and Tsuna had planned this first: get Taka to bring out his flames on his own.

Last time, from what the hitman heard was that Taka had used Hyper Dying Will Mode without the use of pills or even a rebuke bullet. Which was highly unusual and unheard of in the family's history. The only other one to ever have done that was Primo himself.

Taka sighed, but still he didn't wish to lay a hand on his father who was now in his Hyper Dying Will mode. But again he looked over at the hotheaded red-head that was his friend.

"Come on Taka-sama, we can do this. It isn't breaking any family laws since this is training." pointed out Kara with a smirk as she pulled out some kunai...seemingly out of nowhere.

Reborn, from where he was watching grinned as Tsuna dodged with his flames. _What will you do, Takayoshi? What will you do while your friend here is fighting? _thought Reborn calmly, glancing at the messy haired brunette.

Taka could feel his heart racing as he tried to get his hands to stop trembling at the sight of his father toying with Kara. The Tenth's serene face never wavering even with the disappointment in his amber eyes. To make it worse Kara kept charging at him and getting up even though she had zero chance against his father as they were.

_Wh-what am I going to do? I-I can't fight dad! Yet, Kara-chan's getting her butt handed to her and dad's not even breaking a sweat! I don't want Kara-chan to get hurt! _he thought. But Takayoshi was snapped out of it swiftly at Kara's yelp and a crisp, echoing _thud_.

"Kara-chan!" yelped Taka.

"Well, Takayoshi-kun? What will you do?" asked Tsuna sternly.

"I-I don't know. I don't want to fight you dad!" protested Taka.

"YOU DON'T HAVE A CHOICE! WHAT IF I WAS AN ENEMY, WOULD YOU JUST STAND BY WHILE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE HARMED?" snapped Tsuna suddenly, surprising the young Vongola heir.

Takayoshi looked at his friend who had been rendered unable to fight and then at his father and then at Reborn. All the while his father's words and the words of those two strange voices echoing in his mind.

"No. No I won't stand around while my friend is trying so hard!" declared Takayoshi, and like that sky flames appeared on his hands and forehead.

Tsuna and Reborn smiled at this declaration but Tsuna was surprised by this one fact: the purity of the flames surpassed his own! But as Taka lashed out at him at long last, amber eyes blazing with determination, it all reminded Tsuna of Giotto. But as he dodged a punch from his son it was dead clear of one thing. _Takayoshi can't control his flames properly...he lacks experience, _thought Reborn and Tsunayoshi.

Tsuna then delivered a good kick into his son's side, which had been left wide open for a counter attack. Causing Taka to recoil and crash into a wall...painfully, but not enough for anything to break. This was only training spare after all. Taka groaned as he heaved himself to his feet shakily, as did Kara as she came around. Reborn looked at them in disappointment while Tsuna looked at them in concern as his flames died and vanished.

"Oh boy, they got a lot of learning to do." sighed Reborn before looking at Taka, "Your son, even more so with the responsibility of becoming the 11th Boss on his shoulders."

"Y-yeah, I'd say so. Takayoshi-kun reminds me a lot of somebody else." agreed Tsuna.

"You mean yourself, Decimo?" chuckled Reborn, causing Tsuna to get a tick mark on his head.

"AGAIN? Why must you constantly prod around in my mind Reborn!" whined Tsuna in annoyance.

"Same old Tsuna. You may have matured but your personality sure hasn't changed a single bit." grinned Reborn, causing Kara and Taka to sweat drop from where they watched.

"Uh? Are you two gonna keep arguing?" grumbled Kara, her ego being slightly bruised.

"Y-yeah, we're still standing here!" whined Taka.

"Uh, oh yeah, you two can go back home. Tsuna and I got some stuff to talk about."

Taka and Kara just sweat dropped at their tutors...but they left the room.

~.~.~.~

Takayoshi let out a sigh once the lunch bell rang the next day. He was already tired and sore when he had gotten there but he wasn't called "Taka the Klutz" for nothing. He had fallen down the stairs twice, got stuck under a pile of books in the library, and er...now, well, he was somewhat covered in paint due to tripping and knocking over some art supplies by mistake.

"I really hate today! What else can go wrong?" growled Taka in frustration from where he stood, drinking his can of soda.

That's when he heard a frightened scream from the room down below. Causing Taka to look down and see the new exchange student from Italy with red hair.

"Oh hell no, I just _had_ to ask didn't I?!" yelped Taka at realizing who it was. "KARA-CHAN!"

Kara let out a frightened screech as she clung to the window ledge for dear life, while down below in the shadows Reborn was watching the scene._ What will you do Takayoshi? _thought Reborn, feeling a bit frustrated at only being allowed to observe Takayoshi.

But to his surprise he saw Taka trigger Hyper Mode on his own and then did something unexpected. Takayoshi willing sky dived down and caught a screaming Kara just as her fingers slipped. Well, the only problem now was they were both falling to their dooms.

"Do something Taka-sama!" squealed Kara in fear, grasping her crush/friend even tighter out of instinct.

"I'm trying to Kara-chan!" yelped Taka in frustration and equal fear. _Oh man, what am I gonna do?_

_Taka-chan, collect the flames and let them burst out from your hands…let them out like the soft breeze of the wind_… a young girl's voice spoke in his mind.

Takayoshi then remembered what his father had done with his flames and he got an idea as each second with the ground had gotten closer and closer. Swiftly he let his right hand let go of Kara which forced the teenaged girl to hold on with a death grip.

"Come on! Just let this idea work dammit!" Taka half hissed, half pleaded as he gathered up some power into his out stretched hand.

Sure enough a large soft flame shot out from his palm. And his crazy idea was working to slow their descent. The only down side was Taka had zero idea on how to control such large, pure flames. But they reached solid ground in one piece, causing a grin from a watching Reborn as the hitman walked away.

_Tsuna was correct. Taka indeed has flames that are as pure as Primo's own. Maybe even more...this is going to be an interesting student. But we gotta do something about those flames' control, _thought Reborn before vanishing completely from sight.

"Are you ok, Kara-chan?" asked Taka, his flames still raging on.

Kara nodded, "H-hai. I'm fine, arigato Taka-sama!"

"Thank goodness." sighed Taka before fainting then and there.

"Eek! Taka-sama!"

But Taka gave no reply as stars passed by his eyes.

Not too far off from the Namimori gates leading to the school, a young girl with dark brown and black hair stood. She saw that Reborn had stopped observing from his hiding post, which cause her to smile and slowly turned away to walk down the road. Her midnight eyes shimmering in the afternoon light.

One thing was for sure though...nothing was ever going to be the same again for Taka.


	3. Chapter 3

**~Chapter 3~  
This Is Training?**

**The Swallow Flies Towards the Sky!**

~.~.~.~

It was a hot summer's day and it was now early June; June 5 to be exact. Not a breeze blew, not even a cloud full of rain was present, much to the torture of the poor students at Namimori Middle. But there were two that were really not handling the heat very well.

Gokudera Kara, the only child of the Storm Guardian.

And of course, Sawada Takayoshi the lone heir to the Vongola Family.

Kara was fanning herself with her own text book out of being desperate. While the young Vongola prince was er, well, hopelessly stuck at the window of the last class of the day to be at the mercy of the relentless sunlight. The poor messy haired brunette felt like he was walking in the Amazon right now as he impatiently looked at the clock.

"Come on bell, ring already dammit..." moaned Taka softly, his head still lying on his hard text book.

Kara, who was sitting beside him in the next row, glanced over at her friend/crush in concern. Memories of the events from her first day at this school tracked through her mind. But only one played again and again like a broken record. The feeling of thinking she was good as dead after falling out the window in the art room during clean up, but only to find Takayoshi catching her, then saving them both from a nasty fall. Her heart had skipped a beat then, but that was beside the matter right now.

Point right now was she cared about was: IT'S TOO HOT!

"I know, I'm sweltering right now Taka-sama.… And dang, I'd give almost anything for some ice-cream cake right now..." sighed Kara in a hushed tone to the young heir.

And as if their prayers were answered the school bell rang and faster than you can wink Taka and Kara were out of there. No way were they staying in that oven of a classroom with no air conditioning! But as they reached the gate Taka's intuition kicked in again and then a voice reached their ears...

"In coming wayward ball!"

"Eeek! Duck!" squeaked Takayoshi, jumping into the bushes with Kara.

Unfortunately it was a rose bush, which leads to the duo screeching and getting snippy at each other as the ball went over the brick wall.

"Youch! Taka-sama...why did it _have_ to be a rose bush?" grumbled Kara as a tick mark appeared on her head.

"Ite! M-My bad Kara-chan...but you jumped in too you know." pointed out Taka as he got out of the bush too, looking like a cat's scratching post.

That was when a young, tall, 15 year old boy with a slender frame race over; waving his hand in greeting. He had short charcoal black hair and ice-kissed eyes as well as a light-hearted air around him. He had on the school uniform but also was carrying a duffle bag which had some stuff for kendo in it.

"Man, am I glad I caught up to you." said the black haired teen with a smile, swiping some sweat away from his forehead due to the heat.

It took a moment but the duo soon knew who this boy was. It brought an excited smile on Takayoshi's face while Kara smirked.

"Skylar-kun, you were the one who warned us about that baseball, weren't you?" asked Taka, Skylar nodded.

"Yeah, I saw you two standing there, then the foul ball from the baseball club's practice heading towards you just as I got out of kendo." said Skylar with a goofy grin.

"You're Kara, right?" Kara nodded.

"What of it, air head?" grumbled Kara.

Skylar just blinked a few times while Taka anime fell from remembering that Kara didn't like Skylar too much, but enough not to start a fight unless in a bad mood.

_Like now...oh man~! _thought the young Undecimo.

"Easy, take it easy Kara. I didn't recognize you at first, it's been years since we last saw each other...that's all." explained Skylar, causing the red-head to give in and smile.

"Um, it's nice and all but can we please get going before Reborn-sensei and Dad kick our butts for being late?" reminded Takayoshi hastily and nervously.

"Uh, mind if I come along? I got nothing else to do and I'd rather spend time with you guys." said Skylar.

"Sure!"

"Suit yourself, Air Head."

~.~.~.~

Kara and Skylar along with Tsuna flinched each time a pained yelp echoed through the halls. Those shrieks of pain came from one young, clumsy Vongola heir who was getting thorns pulled out of his sides by Kara's mother, Sarah.

"Oh boy, I see Taka hasn't changed a bit, huh Uncle Tsuna?" sighed Skylar. "And neither has this base. Gets me every time how big it is!"

"You've been here before Skylar?" asked Kara curiously, Skylar and Tsuna nodded.

"Yes, Skylar-kun often came here with his father. He knew about the Vongola since he was small in fact." smiled Tsuna in response.

That was when they heard a crashing, bang, and a thud just outside the office.

"Sounds like the clumsy heir strikes again." noted Reborn in amusement. That same instant Kara and Skylar opened the doors to find what Reborn said was true. Takayoshi, dressed in a blue grunge t-shirt and jeans had slipped and crashed right into one very annoyed Lal Mirch; who had come in to see Tsuna.

"Get off me brat!" snapped Lal.

"EEK! S-sorry Lal-sama!" squeaked Taka as he got back up in a hurry.

"Tsk." huffed Lal as she entered Tsuna's office after getting back up.

"You ok Taka-sama?" asked Kara kindly.

"Oh, he's fine Kara." pointed out Skylar.

"Skylar-kun's right, I've had worse Kara-chan. Remember yesterday's training?" said Taka as he rubbed his neck.

Kara instantly flinched at the memory while Skylar looked puzzled. The training involved dodging lasers and traps since Reborn told Tsuna what Takayoshi did when he saved Kara, which involved Tsuna teaching Taka to fly with his flames. Poor Taka had such a hard time of it and didn't come out unscathed…or off the ground. Well, her training with her father had been no better off to be honest. She had been left with a few minor burns, singed hair and clothes, and bruises. But both of them ended up having nightmares after that.

"I'm guessing by the looks on your faces it was pretty bad..."said Skylar with a sweat drop.

"Then why don't we make things interesting today since Skylar will be joining us?" came the voice of the hitman.

"Reborn!" yelped the trio.

"Ciaossu." greeted Reborn.

"What are we doing this time?" asked Takayoshi.

"Hide and Seek...Vongola style." said Reborn with a devious grin.

"Why hide and seek? That's a kids game." grumbled Kara in annoyance.

"To be frank, your skills in tracking and hiding need improving. Even Tsuna agrees with me here. But, who is he to argue with his former home tutor?" stated Reborn.

"Makes sense, I guess. So, who's the seeker and who's the hider?" asked Skylar.

"Natsu and Leon and me will be the hiders, you three will work together to find us." said Reborn as Natsu, the sky lion cub, came running out to stand beside Reborn. Reborn then looked directly at Taka as he spoke further, "And this will also test your ability to keep your two comrades under control and working together to catch us as a boss. Is that clear, Taka?"

"Hai! Couldn't be any more clearer." answered Takayoshi, causing a grin to appear on Reborn's face.

"That's the spirit Taka-sama!" cheered Kara.

"This going to be interesting." grinned Skylar in equal excitement.

And with that Leon, Natsu, and Reborn split up in different directions. Natsu went straight to Tsuna's room, Leon went to the kitchen, and Reborn went outside the base to the forest. Takayoshi and his two friends decided to go to the surveillance room first.

"Skylar, do you know how these cameras work?" asked Takayoshi, pointing to the monitors.

"Um, kinda...why do you ask?" asked Skylar.

"Do you know how to check what happened in the last 20 minutes?" Skylar nodded.

"Cool, then let's see what there is already!" said Kara.

Skylar quickly went over and got to work at the keyboard, typing like crazy until he smirked and found what he was looking for. The monitor revealed the directions they each ran in of their so called targets. "Nothing but net!" smirked Skylar.

"You have GOT to stop watching so much sports programs, air head!" retorted Kara.

"Kara-chan!" groaned Taka, swatting his face.

"Fine..." grumbled Kara as they looked at the screen.

The young Undecimo and his two friends smiled at seeing where each target was going.

"Looks like Natsu went towards your dad's room, Taka." said Skylar.

"Yeah, and shape-shifting lizard went to towards the hall where the kitchen is." pointed Kara.

"That leaves Reborn-sensei. He went towards the east entrance that exists into the forest outskirts of Namimori." said Taka.

"So, who do we go after first?" asked Kara.

"I say we go after Natsu first, then Leon, and finally Reborn." suggested Skylar.

"Good idea!"

"For once..."

"KARA-CHAN!"

~.~.~.~

The young Undecimo...aka, Taka, along with Kara and Skylar headed down to his father's room. The room consisted of a steel framed bed, a cat bed for Natsu, a small desk with a laptop that had the Vongola Family's coat of arms on the back (which was still on), a red rug, dresser, and a bookshelf. The group searched the room, care to put stuff back when down. But still couldn't find the little lion cub. That's when Taka got an idea and triggered his Hyper Mode.

"Hm? What are you doing Taka-sama?" whispered Kara.

"You'll see, just watch." whispered Taka calmly.

Skylar and Kara did just that as they watched the young Vongola prince ignite a little bit of sky flames in his right palm. Taka then crouched down and out stretched his flaming hand low to the ground. Sure enough, out from under the bed, popped out one Natsu. Natsu eagerly raced over and began lapping up some of the flames. Skylar and Kara nodded and Skylar picked up Natsu, who's ears drooped sadly at being taken away from his flame snack.

"Gotcha Natsu." grinned the gang.

"Nyu nya?" mewed Natsu before squirming out of Skylar's grasp.

Natsu then leaped onto Taka's shoulder, nuzzling him and was rewarded by his master's cub's laughter.

"Oi! N-Natsu that tickles!" laughed Taka as they left his father's room.

~.~.~.~

Meanwhile Tsuna was watching this through his own private link to the cameras on a monitor.

He sighed, face palming at the stacks of paperwork. "Don't these damn papers ever stop multiplying!" whined Tsuna.

In worse cases like this, he would probably ask Shiro for some help at this time of need. But he knew Reborn would give him a tongue-lashing if he doesn't do this since it was part of being a boss. And this part of the job sucks, really bad.

Tsuna gave in and hit his head on the desk, hearing a loud squeal. He snapped his head back up, only to relax to see Skylar's younger sister Hikari standing next to the door way to his office. She had the look of fear in her eyes, but it quickly changed when she saw her uncle.

"What's wrong, Hikari-chan?" Tsuna asked the young 10 year old.

Hikari gave a sigh of relief, "I thought you hurt yourself from dropping your head on the desk. It sounded like it hurt."

Tsuna blinked at her, seeing her innocent midnight eyes and saw the concern in the deep depths. He must have scared her when she was about to enter his office.

"Oh," the young boss had just remembered something. "Hikari, would you come here please." Confusion crossed her eyes once she came over to him. He picked her up and let her sit on his lap, seeing that she was partly facing him. "A couple days ago, you warned me of Taka being in danger from those bullies. How did you know?"

Hikari's eyes went strangely calm from his question, catching him off by surprise to see the dark depths of her eyes showing kind wisdom. She did that for a long moment before turning them back to her innocent, eager eyes. She closed them and gave a smile at her uncle.

"Sharp instincts, I guess?" Hikari said while placing her finger on her lip, causing Tsuna to face fault at this.

"Your instincts are very sharp, just like your father Takeshi," Tsuna admitted, smiling. Only he felt that Hikari was hiding something. Maybe he should test her and see if her…instincts are good at tracking.

"Oh! Are Skylar, Kara, and Taka playing hide-and-seek?" Hikari asks Tsuna and watched the monitor with excitement in her eyes. He smiles at the TV.

"Yes, they're trying to find Natsu, Leon, and Reborn. They found Natsu, but the other two are hiding somewhere. Can you find Leon and Reborn?"

Fixing her position to look at the TV monitor carefully Tsuna realized that her face grew mildly serious as she began to search his old tutor and Leon. That look she has reminds him of his Rain Guardian all too well, especially when he's serious of throwing baseballs at Lambo when they were young. After a terrible experience like that Lambo never played baseball with Takeshi.

"I found them Uncle Tsuna." Tsuna shakes his head from his youth moments and looked at Hikari.

"Where?"

"Leon is in the kitchen in a form of a toaster. And Reborn is outside of the base hidden amongst the leaves of the tree near the waterfall with small streams flowing, a couple yards behind the Namimori Shrine." Hikari instructed with her eyes returning from her seriousness and smiled with a wide grin.

Raising his eyebrow he turns back to the screen and observed carefully, seeing that she was…

"Um…Uncle Tsuna…"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Jirou is or Uri?"

Tsuna blinks at her and puts her gently back on her own feet. "I think Jirou is in the training room down below with your dad, and I think Uri's with Hayato in his office." He told her with a bright smile.

Hikari smiles at her uncle and turns to leave, stopping at the door to look over her shoulder. "Arigato, Uncle Tsuna. I guess my instinct wasn't wrong then. But it was fun!" She smiled once more and makes her way down the hall, suddenly making Tsuna watch her leave the room and look back at the screen once more.

Takayoshi, Skylar, Kara, and little Natsu had found Leon in the kitchen. Tsuna watched as his son and the heirs to the Storm and Rain Guardians had discovered Reborn snoozing away in his tree, just like Hikari said.

"Well, that turned out…unexpected." Falling back to his chair, he heaved a deep sigh with a smile crossing on his lips.

_Well, they're getting there...slowly. Now we just need Taka's guardians for Sun, Cloud, Thunder, and Mist. Although, the Mist Guardian one will be tricky to choose since Muruko's missing and Chrome could never have children due to her condition_, thought Tsuna as he watched his son and his two friends.

At long last the 11th Generation of Vongola was starting to form.

"Isn't this great, Primo?" grinned Tsuna as he stroked his Vongola X ring. By the warmth coming from it Tsuna guessed Giotto's conscious agreed.

But his smile slowly came to a frown to his misgivings. He knew deep down that Hikari had already knew where Reborn, Leon, and Natsu were hiding. Was she hiding something? What is it that she wasn't telling him or her parents about? That's what he'll have to ask Reborn about.

And now, which Guardian would be next to join Takayoshi?


	4. Chapter 4

**~Chapter 4~  
Cloudy With A Chance of Storms**

**~.~.~.~**

It was early morning in Namimori that early June day. A cool summer breeze, fresh from a night's rain storm danced in the trees and flowers. Birds chirped their morning greetings as cars and people raced to get to their destinations.

One such teen was a messy haired brunette named Takayoshi...and for once he wasn't running late.

"Bye Kaa-chan, bye dad, bye Reborn-sensei! I'm off to school now!" called out Taka as he grabbed his bag and raced out the door to join Kara and Skylar.

"All right, see you soon and be careful Takayoshi-kun." called out Kyoko.

"Don't forget to pay attention, Dame Taka." said Reborn with a smirk, causing Tsuna and Taka to sweat drop as the young 11th joined his two childhood friends outside.

Tsuna gave a smile to see his son off early to school with his friends. His eyes drew up to Reborn, catching his old tutor's black eyes and making him stand up straight with his hands in his pockets.

"Tsuna, what is it that you want to discuss about? It's unlike of you to ask me for a favor." Reborn said bluntly.

Tsuna gave a nod. "I just had a strange experience yesterday—"

"Strange things happen every day, Dame Tsuna."

"Stop it, Reborn! I'm serious." Tsuna snapped at him and makes the hitman smirk.

"What's the problem, Tsuna?" Reborn asks more politely.

"It's Hikari."

"Shiro's daughter?"

"Hai. She came to my office while Taka and his friends were looking for you, Leon, and Natsu the other day. I asked her how she knew Taka was in danger with those bullies and she just told me her instincts warned her. And then I tested her instincts in finding you and Leon. She told me your locations before my son found you. I found it rather…odd and mysterious that she knew." Tsuna explained to Reborn.

"Mysterious, is more of my perspective of seeing it, but odd…she's 10 years old and doesn't have any Dying Will flames." Reborn queered. "Do you want me to watch her?"

"More or less, yes. Just make sure she doesn't notice you."

"Like I did to you."

"Reborn!"

"Morning, Taka-sama." greeted young Kara, blushing a bit.

"Yo Taka!" grinned Skylar.

"Morning Kara-chan and Skylar." greeted Takayoshi in return as they headed down the street to head for the school.

Along the way they stopped at a small shop and used some pocket change to buy their lunches for the day. Taka bought some pre-made sushi, Skylar bought a sub, and Kara bought uh...well, Takayoshi had no idea what it was really. Some sort of sub with apples and grapes.

_Look at us. Reborn-sensei is right about my family growing. I have Kara-chan and Skylar...who'll be next? _he thought as he watched Skylar tease Kara out of good humor.

That was when some sort of skirmish could be heard a few blocks away. "Huh?" all three squeaked in surprise.

"We best go check it out, what do you think, Taka?" asked Skylar nervously, Takayoshi nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, Taka-sama's spoken so let's go." smirked Kara, itching to grab her kunai.

"It came from this direction, over on Namimori Street." said Takayoshi as he dashed towards the racket, his friends on his heels.

The young 11th and his two comrades could only gawk at the sight before them. A man-slayer 16 year old girl with shoulder length raven black hair, the long bangs covering her left eye and with hazel eyes stood at the center of some fallen high schoolers. She had a scowl on her face and was dusting off her battle staff. She also had on the Namimori School uniform the prefect band on her arm. Those piercing pools of hazel locked onto the gang, sending a chill up poor Taka's spine.

"Th-that's...Roma-chan." gulped Takayoshi softly.

"Roma? As in Hibari Roma?" asked Skylar, Kara nodding her head.

"I heard she has her dad's nasty habit of "_biting people to death"_, sort to speak. Looks like my dad was spot on." hissed Kara. "See that staff. It's able to be broken apart and put back together again."

"Sounds like a section staff." said Skylar.

Kara nodded but Taka shrieked in surprise as suddenly Roma appeared behind them and had smacked Kara in the back, hard enough to send the redhead into a nearby wall.

"Why must people always go in crowds like rats?" spat Roma as she swiped the air with her staff.

"Kara-chan!" squeaked Taka in worry.

"Youch, that's gotta hurt." noted Skylar, just as concerned.

Kara got up with her hand on the wall for means of support as she shook the stars from her eyes. Oh yes, she gonna feel sore later. For now though: payback time!

"Roma-teme!" snarled Kara as she locked eyes with Roma. Roma didn't even flinch.

"Pest."

"Now guys, we shouldn't-" began Skylar but was cut off as Takayoshi pushed Skylar to the ground.

They both turned wide-eyed as Kara unleashed a storm of kunai at Roma, seemingly out of nowhere. Roma's response was equally impressive as she twirled her staff fast enough to reflect the kunai. One stray kunai grazed Takayoshi's and Skylar's cheeks.

"We've gotta do something Taka, they'll both get hurt if this keeps up." growled Skylar as Taka nodded in agreement.

"I agree...and if Roma-chan is anything like my dad's Cloud Guardian then she'll respect somebody that can stand toe to toe with her." explained Takayoshi.

"And that means?" asked Skylar.

"It means I have to get in there and restrain Roma-chan." gulped Taka.

"Good luck with that. I guess I'll take Kara, then." sighed Skylar.

Takayoshi nodded as his Hyper Mode activated, the signature sky flame igniting on his forehead and his eyes turning amber and red. Calmly he walked over from behind Roma, dodging any ricocheting kunai daggers that came his way with flips and twists.

"Roma-chan." called out Takayoshi.

Roma turned around and spotted Taka and smirks before lashing out at him. In reply Taka ended up going out of his way to dodge each blow the best he could. All of his times training in dodging lasers were now showing their results. And it frustrated Roma to no ends while Takayoshi stayed calm.

"Calm down already Roma-chan." pleaded Taka as he caught Roma's staff.

With a grunt of surprise from Roma, Taka used the staff to pin the feisty teen to the ground. Skylar had calmed down Kara and both were stunned at the scene. Roma was struggling to get Taka off of her and get her staff out of his hands. But eventually, after some time, she stopped with a scowl on her face.

"Do you concede defeat?" asked Taka, his flame still blazing.

"I -" Roma stopped as a small girl pushed off Taka from her.

Taka suddenly jumped back and faced a girl with a bruised face. "Hikari-chan?!" Taka exclaimed his cousin's name.

"It's ok, Taka-nii. She was only protecting me from those high schoolers. So please, don't fight!" Hikari pleaded.

Skylar, who loosened his grip on Kara, saw some bruises on his little sister's face. Letting go of her he raced over to Hikari with worry flickering through his eyes.

"What happened?" Skylar asked, touching the side of Hikari's cheek as she winces.

"I was on my way to school until these high schoolers came out of nowhere and dragged me to an alley. I stepped on the man's foot and made a dash through the alley and ended up in Namimori Street. They surrounded me there and one of them punches me on the face…" Hikari touched the side of her face and half closed her eyes.

"They were closing me in, and then Roma-nee came to my rescue. She defeated each of them, and then you guys showed up." she finished. Roma gave a huff and turn her hazel eyes on Hikari.

Removing his Hyper Will flames from his forehead and letting his eyes turn back to their icy-blue ones, Taka place his bag to the ground and went searching for through it taking out his first aid kit. He opened it and took a band aid from it and places it on Hikari's bruise cheek.

"There. You should put ice on it when you get home before it swells up." Taka advised her, giving a kind smile to her.

Hikari blinked at him calmly and smiles back, "Arigato, Taka-nii."

"I'll take you to your school, Hikari-chan." Skylar came up to her side, giving him a shake of her head.

"I'll be fine on my own. Thank you, Roma-nee for protecting me." Hikari bowed at Roma and smiles her wide grin at her.

"You're welcome, pest." Roma said, a hint of wary coming out.

"Are you sure?" Skylar asked once more.

"Hai. I'll come by later to let you walk me home after school. Until then, goodbye minna!" Hikari went skipping down and out of the alley to the streets.

Roma, who was now feeling her pride a bit bruised, snatched the staff back from Taka, causing a sweat drop from the young 11th and Skylar while Kara looked like she was about to explode again. But she kept that temper under control...just by a hair line.

Roma broke her staff down to three parts and placed it back up her sleeve.

"You sure aren't no vermin. Nobody but my father could do what you accomplished." said Roma coldly.

"I'm gonna have to agree there. That was pretty cool Taka." grinned Skylar, high fiving his best friend.

"You were awesome Taka-sama~!" swooned Kara, causing a sweat drop from all three.

"Is she always like this?" whispered Roma to the two boys who nodded in reply.

"Shouldn't we be getting to school? We're gonna be late!" squeaked Taka in a panic.

Roma, Kara, and Skylar flinched at hearing this and raced down the block to get to the school gates. They got in just in time but Taka tripped on the stairs with a startled "Eek" and collided with his three friends, resulting in a tangled heap of limbs.

Luckily for Skylar he had managed to evade it. But Roma and Kara weren't exactly lucky. Poor Takayoshi sitting on them and was rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"You guys all right?" called Skylar.

"Hai!" called the three.

"Um, sorry Roma-chan and Kara-chan." chuckled Taka. "I'm a total klutz..."

Roma and Kara were both had their blood at boiling point now. Roma's brow was twitching and she looked like she wanted to smash a certain messy haired brunette to high heaven. Kara had tick marks and she looked no better off with her temper about to erupt.

"Yes you are now...GET OFF OF US!" snapped both girls.

"Eeek!"

~.~.~.~

Continuing her walk down to her school, Hikari smiled while carrying her blue backpack and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her face. Despite the pain from the punch she received, it wasn't bothering her as much with the band aid on her face.

She soon came to a stop under a shaded tree a soft breeze blowing behind her, causing her hair to sway forward with it. Her eyes closed as a smile forms on her lips.

"I know you're there, Reborn," Hikari said but doesn't turn around to see him, knowing full well that he was standing right behind her a few feet away.

Holding his fedora with his hand as a strong wind blew over them, a smirk on his face as he lifts his head up to look at her. He could tell by the look of her eyes that she knew he was following her from the start.

A smirk appeared on his lips as he walks close to her, standing next to her side as he gazes up at the clear blue sky. "So, you're the next heir to take _her_ place. I would say that you knew this since the day you met your cousin, Takayoshi. Am I correct?" Reborn spoke softly, seeing a smile come from Hikari in the corner of his eye.

"Yes," Hikari said, staring up at the sky as well. "And my time is drawing closer to reveal my true nature of being here."

The real fight is coming their way.


End file.
